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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23730778">Prowl Week 2020</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/fawnsbee/pseuds/fawnsbee'>fawnsbee</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Transformers (IDW 2019), Transformers Animated (2007)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Character Death, Fluff, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Prowl Week 2020, adding more tags as I go, chapter 1 is dealing with death nobody dies in the chapter, idw#2 issue 5 and forward spoilers!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:13:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,361</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23730778</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/fawnsbee/pseuds/fawnsbee</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Prowl Week 2020 is here and I'm participating! Chapter one deals with events in IDW2, and honestly no clue about the rest but they'll probably end up being TF:A!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bumblebee/Prowl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Prowl Week 2020</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hello all! welcome to prowl week 2020 day one! day one prompt is : crush! this is angst of dealing with character death in canon so PLEASE don't read unless ur ready for spoilers of issue#5 and onwards! </p>
<p>i love beeprowl to bits but this chapter isn't supposed to be shippy at all, however i will not argue against it being some hint to a start of one or something more, but my goal with this prompt was to deal with the canon events (i'll talk more about it in the end notes!)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b> <em>“WAIT! PLEASE DON’T—“</em> </b>
</p><p>The words replayed over and over. As did the sickening <strong>crash</strong> of silence that fell after. He could lie and say he was listening for any feedback or sounds or voices that could indicate who mur— who else was there with Rubble. </p><p>But that’s not what he was doing and he knew he wouldn’t fool anyone if he said it. </p><p>
  <em> “It’s not your fault.”  </em>
</p><p><em> “I know. Doesn’t change the fact I was too slow to find that voin.” </em> He tried to shift away from Rubble’s death as a topic. Shift it to something he could be angry about. <em> “Doesn’t change the fact whoever did this is going to wish I’d been a </em> <b> <em>lot </em> </b> <em> slower finding </em> <b> <em>them</em> </b> <em> .”  </em></p><p>Prowl had a simple rule with his investigations. Being emotional gains no clues and solves nothing. It hinders clear thought and risks missing key elements. Chromia offered him comfort, but he couldn’t take it. </p><p>Taking it would be an admission that he needed it. But he didn’t. He knew he didn’t. </p><p>So why did he keep playing those last words?</p><p>He finally stopped, and pushed the chair he was in away from his desk. </p><p>“Should recharge…” he muttered to no one, and felt a prick of frustration as someone knocked on the door to his quarters. Speaking loud enough to be heard through the door, he shouted “WHO IS IT?” and was surprised at the smaller voice that replied. </p><p>“It’s me— Bumblebee. Can we talk?” </p><p>That was certainly not who he expected, and certainly fitting considering his current train of thought. </p><p>He activated the door to open, even more surprised at how… <em> Downtrodden </em>the minibot appeared. Prowl gestured with a servo for him to take a chair, sliding the door shut as he entered. </p><p>“Windblade’s suggestion,” he started, sitting down and putting a hand on the top of his helm in something akin to nervousness. “Sorry for barging in late. I— well, Windblade was talking to Chromia. They thought it’d be a good idea for us to talk. Do you mind?”</p><p>“...Wouldn’t have let you in if I did, I suppose,” the Praxian stated, sitting back on the berth in the room. “What do they think we should talk about?”</p><p>“Rubble.” </p><p>Prowl stayed quiet for a moment. Of course. Chromia knew him well enough, she would know if he was lying about his feelings towards Rubble’s early demise. Why not send <em> Bumblebee, </em> the <em> mentor </em> of the kid. Yeah. <em> ‘Great idea, Windblade and Chromia. Much appreciated.’ </em> He didn’t realize he hadn’t responded until Bumblebee made the move to get up. </p><p>“I-I can go, this is awkward and I don’t think you want to—“</p><p>“No no, I’m sorry,” Prowl started, mentally cursing himself for making the situation weirder. “It’s just something that’s still fresh. His voice—“</p><p>“His voice?” The yellow bot seemed to perk up. </p><p>“Yes, his voice. It repeats in my mind.” <em> ‘Does he not know?’ </em></p><p>“I-I don’t understand. You mean before he—?”</p><p><em> ‘He doesn’t.’ </em> </p><p>“No, I mean when.”</p><p>“<em> When? </em>”</p><p>“When. He was attempting to contact you, and dialed me by mistake.”</p><p>“You mean— when he was…?”</p><p>Prowl nodded, a pang of hurt shocking his processor as Bumblebee’s optics fell. </p><p>“Unfortunately.” He waited before saying anything else. He knew the minibot was crushed by the loss of his mentee already. This certainly did not help. But then he nodded, and Prowl took this as a signal to continue. “He pinged my communications link. He reported to me that he had found the voin, someone had killed it, and that someone was now—“</p><p>“Going to kill him.” It wasn’t a question and it wasn’t said like one. Prowl nodded slowly, wondering if maybe this was a poor idea to go along with. But Bumblebee sighed, his frame giving the slightest hint of a shake as he settled back into the chair. </p><p>“I believe so.”</p><p>“Could you believe otherwise?”</p><p>“...No.” The minibot’s face screwed up in frustration and anger, at the situation and himself he assumed. </p><p>“You know, I gave him the ‘ok’ to walk home on his own. I really thought that—“</p><p>“Don’t blame yourself.” Prowl wasn’t great at emotional comfort, but it was in the same vein of how Chromia had tried to comfort him.</p><p>“It’s hard not to,” Bumblebee vented, running a servo from the back of his helm to his neck before bringing it to rest on his thigh plating. “I was his mentor, Prowl. I’m supposed to <em> protect </em>him.”</p><p>“No, that’s <em> my </em> job,” Prowl corrected. “Your job was to teach him. I’m supposed to be keeping Cybertron safe. I’m supposed to be finding Brainstorm’s murderer and preventing others, not letting more happen.” He looked down at his chassis and stabilizers. “That’s my purpose. And I failed it.” It was the first grief he’d let himself feel. </p><p>He hated it. </p><p>He barely noticed that Bumblebee had gotten up from the chair, and sat next to Prowl on the berth. </p><p>“I get why Chromia and Windblade thought this was a good idea,” the scout said, putting a hand on the Praxian’s shoulder like Windblade had done for him. “But Prowl, it isn’t your fault.” </p><p>“It’s my job.” </p><p>“...Can’t argue with that, I guess,” Bumblebee said, sighing again and pulling his servo back. “Doesn’t mean you should blame yourself. You didn’t <em> send </em> him out. When he was too young. When you weren’t certain he could…” He dropped his head to his hands. “You protect Cybertron as a whole, Prowl. I had <em> one </em>person. And I couldn’t even do that. He was doomed the second he was assigned me as a m—“</p><p>“No, he wasn’t. You were as good a mentor to him as you could’ve been. You couldn’t have known there’d be a danger out there… Just as I couldn’t. You didn’t know where he was—“</p><p>“But I <em> should’ve </em>. And because I didn’t he—“</p><p>“No. Listen to me, okay? Let me finish.” He cycled air deeply, sitting up and straightening his back struts. “It is not your fault, nor will it ever be. You believed he would get home safely, you had no reason to believe otherwise. You had no reason to assume danger would find him, or he wouldn’t find his way home. You are not responsible for someone else actively seeking him out and… Killing him. You didn’t do that. And you can’t blame yourself for another’s actions.” </p><p>The words had come out faster than he could process them, and he acknowledged he was half talking to himself. But it was true. Logically, he couldn’t comfort Bumblebee out of blame unless he decided he was not at blame either. </p><p>“It’s neither of our faults,” he said at last, offlining his optics and taking a deep vent. “We can’t blame ourselves for things out of our control.” As much as resentment he had at the beginning towards Chromia and Windblade for suggesting this interaction, he understood the need for it better now. </p><p>Him and Bumblebee had a mutual grief. A mutual heartache and guilt. Talking one out of it served to talk the other out of it. </p><p>A silence fell between them as Bumblebee slowly nodded, offlining his optics for a moment. </p><p>“I know,” he said, and unlike Prowl when he had said the same to Chromia, he wasn’t lying. “And it’s okay to still… For me to still hurt, and you too. But it isn’t our fault.” He seemed more sure of himself, in the way he both spoke and carried his frame as he stood. </p><p>Much to Prowl’s surprise, he reached out a servo. </p><p>“Thanks, I— I know this was odd, and unexpected, and probably definitely not in your schedule, but, I appreciate it.” The minibot offered a genuine smile as Prowl shook his servo. </p><p>“You’re welcome. I’m glad I could help you.” He smiled back, and walked Bumblebee to the door. “...You’re free to stop by again. If you need to, to talk or… Anything.” </p><p>“Kindness suits you, Prowl.” The scout said, offering a small chuckle before walking out of the quarters and waving a goodbye. Prowl nodded in return, before closing the door and laying down in his berth. </p><p>
  <em> ‘I promise, Rubble, your death won’t be in vain.’ </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>and there u have it! prompt one done! </p>
<p>i really wanted to explore the mutual grief prowl and bee deal with surrounding rubble's death. considering he was bee's mentee (was using the word apprentice too close to warrior cats @ idw2?? hm??) and that prowl literally had to listen to him die, i feel like there's a good dynamic there for them to cope together and seek comfort bc they're the two affected by it the most. </p>
<p>also really wanted to reference prowl's dinosaur but they don't have a NAME yet so. just kno they r chillin somewhere during this fic. supposedly we'll see them again in issue 20 but that isnt out yet so!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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